Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
Twitter is starting a new program called App Graph that tracks all of the other apps people have on their phones. You might be wondering why Twitter cares if you’re a Candy Crush fiend or if you also use Instagram. It’s because Twitter follows the ABT school of sales: Always Be Targetin’. Tracking the other…
I love/hate documentaries like Room 237, which presents crazy fans’ conspiracy theories about Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining (like the idea that the Moon landings were a hoax filmed by Kubrick himself.) That’s why I love this parody connecting the surprisingly successful musical Pitch Perfect with 9/11. By the way, if you haven’t watched Room 237…
We know that Ben Franklin didn’t really want to make the turkey the national bird. But what other Turkey Fun Facts™ are out there for us to devour? Feast your eyes on this megamix of Meleagris gallopavo truths. Over 80 percent of all turkeys raised globally are eaten in the U.S. According to the National…
The 3D printer on the International Space Station is up and running! The first object manufactured on the station instead of delivered to it is a faceplate for the extruder’s casing. This opens up not just in-orbit manufacturing, but another self-repairing machine. The first object printed in space: a faceplate for the extruder’s casing. Image…
Think you have travel woes this Thanksgiving? At least you don’t have to push your own plane down a frozen tarmac in negative 61 degree temps like these travelers in Siberia did. This wasn’t a “pop the clutch because the battery is dead and hop in at the last second as the plane takes off”…
ShopRunner is like Amazon Prime shipping, but for over 100 other online stores (including Newegg, Domino’s, TigerDirect, and a bunch of clothing retailers). A subscription normally costs $79 for year, but today you can get it for $8. Yes, really. [One-Year ShopRunner Membership, $8 with code 15THANKS] https://www.livingsocial.com/deals/1337680-one-year-shoprunner-membership There’s no need to wait around for…
In response to Ken Block’s most recent Gymkhana outing, Ken Box has once again returned to take his cardboard-clad Crazy Cart out for a spin in a sea of shipping containers and tractor trailers. If for some reason you thought the Crazy Cart was just a toy for kids, here’s proof that you should really…
Lego enthusiast Angus MacLane might be more known for his lovely Cube Dude creations, but when he’s not building those blocky designs, he’s still making awesome Lego goodness, like this super-deformed Optimus Prime. It’s a great bit of work – Lego and ‘chibi’ are aesthetics that blend together perfectly, and MacLane certainly packs in a…
Tornadoes terrify me. Being sucked into the sky never to return again was a recurring childhood nightmare of mine, one that felt extremely realistic. Which is why I shiver at the sight of these massive waterspouts. I imagine myself on a boat, being lifted up by some massive force, surrounded by sharks trying to bite…
All along America’s open highways are the sight of rest stops—lonesome, and often odd, miniature roadside parks that dot the landscape. Photographer Ryann Ford is on a mission to document these architectural emblems. Ford was captivated by the sight of the rest stops while moving from California to Texas. After learning that many of these…
Thanksgiving is almost here, and that means turkey, mashed potatoes, and getting peppered with questions about tech-related news stories because hey, you read a bunch of blogs and you even know what a yik-yak is! It’s only a matter of time before they ask you “So what’s up with that thing on the internets?” Lucky…
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that GoPro is going to start making its own consumer drones. Specifically, the action camera company is going to market “multi-rotor helicopters with high-def camera lenses late next year.” Makes sense! The report says that the new devices will retail for $500 to $1,000, putting GoPro in direct competition…
Our annual day of helium excess is upon us. We speak, of course, of Thanksgiving and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. These giant floppy balloons, as tall as buildings and filled with 12,000 cubic feet of helium, are not graceful creatures. The average balloon requires 90 handlers just to get it down the street. Making…
Why send this tandoori lamb chop to space when it can be in my belly? I don’t know, but Nikesh Shukla and Nick Hearne thought it was a good idea to put it in a weather balloon and film its flight to the stars—or at least 25,000 kilometers up there. I can imagine ISS astronauts…
If there’s someone who mixes mad driving skills and overall madness level on equal parts, that’s legendary driver Ken Box. Here you have him driving through a crazy cart course in case you needed more proof of how insane this dude is. https://jalopnik.com/ken-box-2-is-the-ultimate-crazy-cart-gymkhana-1663663220
After a brochure leak earlier today, it looks like Lego went ahead and released images of the Series 13 minifigures on their Facebook page. Here are all the figs! King Snake Charmer Fencer Alien Trooper Lady Cyclops Unicorn Girl Sheriff Galaxy Trooper Samurai Hot Dog Guy Paleontologist Carpenter Egyptian Warrior Disco Diva Goblin Evil Wizard…
Don’t panic, but there’s a good chance that, at some point during his life, the furry ball of chaos you love deeply is going to get himself hurt. Probably while doing something stupid. Luckily, performing first aid on your dog is as easy as doing it on a human. Here’s how to prepare. A single…
Everyone—ourselves included—loves to moan about how terrible Thanksgiving travel is: The crowds! The weather! The godforsaken airports! But QZ has run the numbers, and it turns out we’re all a bunch of factually incorrect babies. Based on the US Department of Transportation’s 2013 data on the number of carrier operations in US airports, QZ says…
Starting today, Americans will engage in the county’s annual combat ritual: Holiday Travel Season—a brutal tradition pitting travelers against the monolithic security and transportation apparatus in a race to their respective destinations. Believe it or not, it’s possible to make it through with your dignity intact. It just takes a bit of planning. The frustration…
Joerg Sprave is our favorite kind of crazy, a YouTube star who builds lots and lots and lots (and lots) of insane slingshot creations. This time he’s applied the art of rubberized weaponry to personal fitness machines. He calls his new contraption the “Rowboat of Death,” and rightly so because this beast fires steel balls…